A Facebook star and a star on the flag

Race was the issue that made the most news at the Capitol this past week. And it will make more news with another attempt to change a star on the Arkansas flag that commemorates the Confederacy and was placed there in 1923 through a bill sponsored by a Ku Klux Klan member.

The big news this past week was an impassioned speech by Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, opposing a proposed "stand your ground" bill in committee. The bill would have changed the state's current statute, which says a person may use deadly force if he or she can't retreat safely.

When members of the committee were voting to limit debate, Flowers, its only African-American, delivered a stemwinder of a speech, telling them their son doesn't "walk the same path as yours do." Her frustration boiled over with those "d-- guns" -- her sister was killed in 1969 -- and with a pro-gun Legislature where she has had limited influence. She told the sponsor, Sen. Bob Ballinger, R-Berryville, who's kind of a big white man from Northwest Arkansas, that just as he probably feels threatened by her, she feels threatened by him. There was a lot of emotion and some bad words. The chairman, Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, quietly asked her to "stop the profanity," but the last two words were obscured. One widely viewed online video said a "white lawmaker" was "trying to silence her."

Two things happened as a result of that committee meeting.

First, the legislation, Senate Bill 484, failed, and rightly so, after Sen. John Cooper, R-Jonesboro, joined with Democrats in voting no. Those no votes came after law enforcement representatives spoke against the bill. Arkansas law already protects citizens' right to defend themselves. If it's not broke, don't ask the government to fix it.

The other thing that happened was that Flowers' speech went viral. Portions were viewed millions of times online. She became a minor celebrity, which she had not sought to become. She said some national Democrats "were trying to use me," and she was pictured on the front page of a state newspaper hugging Clark in the Senate chamber Monday.

By the time you read this, the Legislature will have moved on, past Facebook newsmaking into the business of legislating, which isn't even remotely the same thing.

One bill they'll consider is House Bill 1736 by Rep. Charles Blake, D-Little Rock. It's his second attempt to change the meaning of the star on the Arkansas flag commemorating the Confederacy.

The flag features three blue stars below the word "Arkansas" that represent the state being a French, Spanish and United States territory before statehood, and one blue star above commemorating the state's membership in the Confederacy.

That designation was added in 1923 through a bill sponsored by Rep. Neil Bohlinger, D-Little Rock, a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK then was at the height of its powers in Arkansas, according to Dr. Ken Barnes, a history professor at the University of Central Arkansas who is writing a book about the time period. Many legislators and civic leaders were members. During that time period, there was a revival of the idea that the Confederacy was a noble cause whose battlefield losses had been reversed through segregation.

Blake, who is African-American, earlier tried to pass a bill that would change the top star's meaning to commemorate the Native American tribes who once lived here.

That bill failed in committee on a voice vote, but several legislators who voted no remained silent when polled in a roll call. Blake has been talking to a couple and is relatively encouraged.

Also encouraging was Gov. Asa Hutchinson's expressed support. Two years ago, he successfully pushed to decouple the state's Martin Luther King-Robert E. Lee holiday. It's clear he won't expend that much political capital this time. But he does support Blake's efforts.

So Blake is returning with a new bill that would repurpose the top star to commemorate the United States. The bottom three stars would commemorate the Native American peoples along with the French and Spanish territory periods. The Confederacy would come off the flag.

Blake plans to run that bill through committee on Monday. It probably won't go viral, but it will be worth watching.

Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.

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The Courier - Your Messenger for the River Valley in Russellville, AR.MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use of or republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper as well as AP news dispatches.